Thursday, August 20, 2009

World Class

After a 4th place finish there is much to be proud of. Three players in the round of 16 and a win over the world junior champion shows the progress US Squash has made in recent years. On behalf of the team we'd like to thank all the people behind the scenes who helped us achieve great things in India.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Progress


Although we didn't beat Egypt today the girls gave 100% effort and showed they can play with the best in the world. Amanda shocked the squash world defeating the World Junior Champion Nour El Sherbini 3-0 at #2. We are looking forward to playing for third place tomorrow versus the hosts, India.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

ENGLAND

Today the team continued it's hot streak narrowly beating England 2-1. The scorelines were all 3 love but that didn't tell the whole story. The match could have gone either way. England started very well with Kimberly Hay defeating yesterday's hero, Amanda Sobhy. Olivia took the court knowing that a top four finish--and a first ever win over mighty England--was on her racquet. She played tight, patient squash earning a 3-0 win over Millie Tomlinson. With the match in the balance our fate rested in Julie Cerullo's hands. As has been the case all week Julie was unflappable yet again. She dictated play from the T and improved with each game in spite of the mounting pressure. The girls will enjoy this one till dinner then will turn their focus to Egypt!

Jack & Meredeth

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Local Derby


The US Junior Women earned a tough 2-1 victory over our neighbors to the north, Canada, this afternoon. All three matches were hotly contested. Scores listed below.

#2 Amanda Sobhy (USA) beat Samantha Cornett (Can) 7-11, 11-13, 11-3, 11-7, 11-8
#1 Laura Gemmel (Can) beat Olivia Blatchford (USA) 11-5, 14-12, 11-5
#3 Julie Cerullo (USA) beat Jennifer Pelletier (Can) 11-5, 13-11, 14-12

Next up, England in the quarters...

Jack & Meredeth

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Ace


With everyone gone and only the remaining top four players left, we were treated to a nice sleep-in followed by some breakfast waffles and oatmeal on a plate. With our match against Spain at 1, we went to the courts to practice on the glass court before our match. This matches line up was Olivia at 1, Julie at 2, Yarden at 3, and Amanda having the day’s rest. US came out strong from the first match, winning each 3-0, giving Spain very little room to shine. Julie played exceptionally well, even hitting an ace off the serve once, making Jack do 20 push-ups. After the matches, Amanda, Julie, and Olivia went back to the Taj Connemara for a nice lunch and relaxing afternoon, while the Odinak’s went out for some yummy Indian food. Julie got an hour long callous removing pedicure, Olivia took a nice fully clothed dip in the pool, and Amanda got a head massage where she was showered in oil. At 6 we headed back to our hotel for some showers and down time and met up at 7:30 for dinner. By the time we interrogated our waiter and ordered excess fries and chicken in a basket, the team headed up to bed to get a good night sleep for the exciting match against Canada tomorrow.

Amanda Sobhy

On the board

Today we woke up at sunrise for a 9am team breakfast. After polishing off a few plates of grub, we went for a WARM up hit at the courts. Without the air conditioning on or a boy insight (besides Jack) it was hot and quiet. Slotting some nicks, we were clearly ready for our premier match against the great South Africans. Before the match we had to bid farewell to our fellow American teammates, who would fly off to different destinations later this evening. Amanda and Yarden proceeded to pack their bags and say goodbye to their former rooms and hello to their new roommates; Amanda with Julie and Yarden with Olivia. Before we knew it, it was game time.

After testing out the American college 'intros' system we snapped a few quick pictures, belted out an intimidating “USA” cheer the number ones took the court. Olivia won a tight 3-0 against South Africa’s Cheyna Tucker. Yarden followed up with another great win over Alexandra Fuller, their number three. Amanda batted clean-up, with a 3-0 sweep over Robyn Baptiste. After a successful first match, the girls enjoyed their first victory dinner with the parents. Now its off to bed, in hopes of repeating the day’s triumph!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Teams


First day of the teams went well for the USA with a three love win over South Africa. Details from the girls forthcoming.

Ta

Sunday, August 2, 2009


In the morning, Libby, Lexi, and Natasha went with Jodie and Kathy to local silk markets in Chennai. They experienced a department store with incense so pungent it was visible in the air. The girls found vibrant tunics and had jasmine flowers put in their hair. In the afternoon, the entire team met at the courts to watch Julie and Yarden compete in their plate semi-final matches.

Julie lost in 4 to Tong Tsz-Wing (HKG) and Yarden lost in 4 to Tamika Saxby (Aus). We watched the girls semi final between number one seed Dipika and Nour El Tayeb. Nour won decisively over Dipika in a four game battle. Led by Jack and Meredeth, the girls trekked through the streets of Chennai and met the parents at an amazing Mediterranean restaurant, Azulia. The highlight of the night was riding in tuk-tuks (Indian taxi cabs)--experiencing the energy of Chennai traffic up close and personal.

Lexi & Olivia

International Trade

Haley, Julie, and Yarden woke up early to eat a good breakfast before their matches. Julie and Yarden pulled off easy wins in 3 games while Haley ended up losing in 5 in a very tough battle to a French girl. After all the morning matches the team made its way to the Taj Connemara hotel for a delicious lunch and a nice swim in the hotel pool. While some girls went back to the hotel to relax, Haley made her way to the courts to watch the quarterfinals. En route, she witnessed the first real accident of the roads. The shuttle that Haley was in crashed into a motorcycle, knocking the rider off and crushing the bike. After the man stood up and the bike was moved, the shuttle just kept driving! Astonished, Haley made it to the courts to tell everyone, and of course cheer Yarden and Julie through their second victory of the day. After a long day at the courts, all the girls met up with the boys team for a big team dinner at the hotel restaurant. Then Lexi, Natasha, and Libby turned into shirt trading animals knocking from door to door in the hotel asking if other players wanted to trade shirts for their USA gear. Lexi ended up getting a Germany, England, and France shirt and Amanda got a Mexico shirt.

Amanda & Haley

Friday, July 31, 2009

Last 16


The morning began with three scintillating matches: Olivia Blatchford started the day off well for the USA by decisively defeating her admirable opponent Rachel Goh of Malaysia in three games. Next up, Amanda Sohby had an incredible win when she stormed her way through to the round of 16, overcoming the number three seed Laura Gemmel of Canada in four tight games. Wrapping up the morning matches was Libby Eyre, who, after dropping the first game, came back with a vengeance and beat the number one player for England, Kimberly Hay. Putting three players in the last 16 demonstrates the progress squash has made in the US few years. After the morning session, everyone filed back into the vans and went to the hotel to prepare for the evening matches. First up was Olivia Blatchford once again, who fought extremely hard but eventually fell to Salma Hany of Egypt in three tight games. Next, Amanda Sohby lost a tough one to Kanzy El Defrawy, also from Egypt, in three games. Right after that Libby Eyre faced the eighth seed from Pakistan, Maria Toor Pakay, and unfortunately fell in three games. Although these three girls have completed their journey at the individual event, they had incredible results and represented the USA in the best possible way. Needless to say they should be very proud of themselves. On the next court over, Julie Cerullo played solidly and took down her opponent from Malaysia, Yong Sue Ann, in three games. Haley Mendez lost the first two games to Anne Jongerden of the Netherlands only to come back with a hard fight and win the next three. Yarden Odinak’s first match of the day started off strong when she won the first game against Ana Arosa Rodriguez from Spain. Although she lost the second game, she tired out her opponent and easily took the next two. Next, Lexi Saunders had a tough battle with Sarah Cardwell of Australia, where they continuously went back and forth, but in the end Lexi fell in the fifth. Finally, Natasha Kingshott ended the day against Nada Elkawaay of Egypt, where she lost in three games. Overall, the girls gave every match a hundred percent and proved the powers of USA squash. The tired players and even more exhausted coaches went back to the hotel feeling satisfied with their days work. Tomorrow Julie, Haley, and Yarden will continue to fight through the tournament. GO USA!!!

Yarden and Libby

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Big Wins!


Fantastic morning in Chennai--three US women (Olivia Blatchford, Libby Eyre and Amanda Sobhy) made the round of 16!

Game on


Today was an exciting opening day of the individual event. Natasha played the inaugural match of the tournament beating Maria Gracia Lopez (Spain) in three games (11-1, 11-1, 11-0). Julie lost a close three-gamer (11-7, 11-8, 11-9) to Ho Ka Po (Hong Kong). Lexi played flawless squash against Anne Jongerden (Ned) winning 11-3, 15-13, 12-10. Haley made her debut on the glass court but lost to Mao Shihui (Singapore’s #1) 11-3, 12-10, 11-5. Yarden fought hard against Saumya Karki (India) but lost 14-12, 4-11, 11-6, 11-8. Having received byes in the first round Libby, Amanda, and Olivia played their first matches in the afternoon. Libby clinched an amazing victory over Tan Yan Xin, the #2 player on Malaysia’s team, winning in four grueling games (10-12, 11-7, 11-8, and 12-10). She will face England’s Kimberley Hay in the third round tomorrow. Amanda executed the perfect squash game sending Harriet Ingham (England) on flight 444 (11-4, 11-4, 11-4). Olivia surmounted Jennie Lindstrom (Sweden) in 16 quick minutes (11-2, 11-2, 12-10). In the second round, Natasha faced #1 seed Dipika Pallikal (India) and lost 11-2, 11-3, 11-1. Although she opened the match with a beautiful cross-court volley nick, unfortunately Lexi fell to #2 seed Heba El Torky (Egypt) 11-5, 11-1, 11-4. USA had a strong start to the tournament and cannot wait to take on the competition in Day 2.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Bus Surfing

Catching a few extra hours of sleep, we began our final day before our first matches. We caught sight of the boys’ team for the first time at breakfast this morning where you could definitely feel the competitive atmosphere. We pilled into two minivans en route to St. Thomas Cathedral. We encountered the strangest site of the trip amidst the midmorning rush of Indian traffic. On top of an overcrowded bus, half a dozen local teenage boys had climbed to the roof, where they stood waving their hands in the air. Luckily, our driver reacted to our shrieks of excitement and drove us closer to the bus. When they saw us, the boys waved and cheered, almost losing their balance when a low hanging branch caught them by surprise. We enjoyed the view of the city, then hurried back to the hotel for a hearty lunch of quesadillas, roast beef sandwiches, and Jack’s favorite Indian chicken curry burritos. After a final sharpening of our shots we dressed in our matching red and blue tunics and headed to the opening ceremony. We were met by the boys’ team dressed in their U.S. squash ensembles. 27 other countries, all dressed in their countries colors, assembled together for various speeches and introductions regarding the 2009 World Junior Squash Championships. Followed by a group dinner and mingling with the international players, we took our official U.S. team photo and headed back to the hotel. One final team meeting with our favorite coaches, Mama Mere and Joking Jack, we all went to room 533 to watch Lexi’s guilty pleasure...The Ellen Degeneres Show. Pumped for tomorrow, we hit our beds, ready to represent the United States and kick some international _ _ _. Lexi, Olivia, & Haley

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Shrek Curry

Making our way down to our team breakfast we were met with traditional southern Indian coffee and tea, mounds of delicious Belgium waffles, and specially made, just for us, perfectly peeled oranges. After we were all full we made our way to the courts – today was the first day we took the shuttles provided by the hotel – and after kicking a very eager group of Egyptians and Canadians off our courts, had a light hit and a few games. We then saw the older members of the Canadian team haze their newcomers by walking them into the venues swimming pool. Luckily for us first timers, we have not (at least so far) gone through world’s initiation pranks by our veteran girls – don’t get any ideas. After we hit the showers we came down for a nice lunch at the hotel consisting of lots of tomato soup, pizzas, and naan, and Olivia and Amanda opted for the buffet. In the end it was Amanda and Olivia retrieving heaping platefuls from their ‘all you can eat’ dessert buffet for the entire team, but having to pretend that it was all for them. After lunch some of us decided to go with Meredeth to the Spencer shopping center where we bargained with shop owners for silk scarf’s and bangles. After asking almost everyone in the mall where we could find a Henna tattoo place we were sent to a very nice salon in a grungy corner of the mall where Haley, Lexi, Yarden, Natasha, and Libby all got beautiful, ethnic Henna tattoos. For the next two hours the girls adventurous enough to try the henna had to be very careful and remain still while the ‘herbal goop’ dried. After a few hours of down time we headed over to the Taj Connemara where the Odinak’s treated us to a traditional Indian meal, where we all overcame our nervousness about spicy foods and tried some very good ‘Shrek [green] looking’ curries and coconut rice. Fortunately, the weather so far has only been hot but very dry, however during dinner we soon realized why people call this time monsoon season when we witnessed out first downpour. Making it back to the hotel by 11:10 we were all ready for bed and looking forward to our small sleep-in tomorrow morning.

Haley & Amanda

Sunday, July 26, 2009

"I Love India"


Today we woke up to find a 10 person bus with the inscription “I Love India” on the side. This was our transportation for the day. We drove in our cool ride to the courts and had a nice, hot, hit at the courts. After a shower and quick lunch, we hopped in our new favorite ‘RV’ and headed out to Mahabalipuram, which is a popular tourist spot near Chennai. On our way to the temples, we stopped at an arts and crafts center where they had many local goods for great prices! There were a lot of little houses that represented the different cultures throughout India, which were very interesting and taught us a bit about the different architecture throughout India. After, we headed to our main destination and we reached the temples. The temples were excavated in 1600s by the British and were definitely worth the trip out. The architecture and designs were incredible and we were all impressed by the works. Next, we went shopping in the shops near the temple where we found great stuff. Natasha managed to make a great bargain on all her goods with her stern look and persistent attitude. After the shopping, we headed to the temple by the beach, which had a great view of the ocean and the many colorful fishing boats. We were all exhausted and made a group decision to head back to the hotel. We took quick showers because it had been so hot out and then headed to our first meal outside of the hotel. Jack really came through with this restaurant and made sure we didn’t forget he is the man. The restaurant was beautiful and was located on the 20th floor. We got to see a new side—the top side—of Chennai and even a couple of fireworks. The dinner was delicious and some people ventured out and tried the spicy Indian food. Meredith could still feel the spiciness as we walked up to our rooms to the hotel. It was an adventurous day and we loved seeing the different places of Chennai.

Libby & Yarden

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Cotton Tunics and One Pair of Socks

After over 24 hours of traveling, we finally arrived at the hotel at 2 am on July 25. Our first flight to Brussels was about 6 and half hours and the plane was packed. We all enjoyed the wide range of in-flight movies which included He’s Just Not That Into You and I Love You, Man.
We arrived in Brussels around 9:30 local time and had about an hour layover. Flying over Belgium was beautiful. The landscape was so picturesque with the greenery and quaint villages – quite a contrast to the hubbub of Chennai. The flight to Chennai lasted approximately 10 hours. We landed at around 12 am. Not only did we have to go through usual immigration but we had a medical examination where they took our temperature etc. to check for Swine Flu. Three vans sent by the Marriot transported us from the airport to the hotel. First of all, nothing can describe the heat wave that we faced when we exited the airport. They say India is hot, but nothing could have prepared us for the heavy, thick air that we faced last night - and that was at 1:00 in the morning when the temperature is lowest!!
After a 30 minute drive through the city, we arrived at the hotel after numerous security checks and an x-ray machine. Lexi and Olivia somehow managed to score free WiFi while the rest of us are paying an exorbitant amount. Haley and Amanda were separated from the team – exiled to the 4th floor and Julie and Natasha have assembled a small food pantry that is fueling the team. Unfortunately, Yarden left one suitcase at home so that she only has one pair of socks, one pair of shorts, and one t-shirt but the team is ready to donate clothes to her cause.
Tired from traveling we all settled into our rooms, excited to enjoy our first day in India!
We met this morning for breakfast at 9:00. A buffet breakfast which includes both traditional Indian dishes and more Western foods is included for all tournament players. After breakfast we drove to the squash facility, stopping at a grocery store to buy water on the way. We definitely got a better view of the city. Everything is unbelievably crowded and the roads are absolute chaos between the number of cars, mopeds, and pedestrians.
We stopped at the grocery store, cleaned out their water supply, and headed to the squash venue. The courts are located in two adjacent buildings. We played on the newer courts with vivid colors of bright blue and green. Most of us had never played in such sweltering heat. We drilled and played games for a little over an hour and then headed back to the hotel to shower. We saw Dipika (#1 seed) drilling on the glass court which is located in a stadium-like arena with seating on all sides - like Tournament of Champions. Ironically on our way to the squash venue we had seen her picture on a billboard advertising a hair product.
We ate lunch in the hotel and then a personal shopper accompanied us to find an outfit we can all wear for the Opening Ceremony. Before we going to the shopping center we drove around Chennai’s city center and down to the beach which is the second longest beach in the world. After an unsuccessful trip to a local mall, we ended up going to a fabric store where we bought short cotton tunics.
When we got back to the hotel we gathered in our room to relax and decorate t-shirts and water bottles. We finished our long day with dinner in the hotel’s Italian restaurant. Our first day in India was incredibly exciting and we all can’t wait for tomorrow! Until then, goodnight from Chennai!

Julie & Natasha

Safe Arrival in India

After our 24 hour trip, the US Junior Women's Team arrived safely in Chennai on Friday at midnight. We're looking forward to our first hit tomorrow at the National Squash Center, followed by shopping and sight seeing around the city, and ending with our first real curry dinner.

Friday, July 24, 2009

En-route to India / More local news

Currently, the girls are on a plane on their way to India. They will use this weekend and the two days before Wednesday to get acclimated and get some last minute training in before the individual competition starts. In the meanwhile for those of us still here in the United States, the girls are receiving more publicity in the local papers for their numerous squash accolades. Check out this great article from the Wilton Villager on Olivia!

http://wiltonvillager.com/story/472506


Thursday, July 23, 2009

Pre-Trip Training: Day Three


Joined by Julie this morning, Haley, Olivia and Lexi (the Brooklyn-ites) made our morning commute to midtown to meet up with Libby, Natasha and coaches Wyant and Quick for the match of the day: Team USA vs. Harvard Club Men’s A team. Team USA beat up on those old men resulting in a 5-1 final score. After our first win, one massage, two saunas, and six showers, the team said goodbye to Natasha for the day and headed to Café Manhattan for a healthy lunch. Next stop: US Squash headquarters to pick up our uniforms. We trekked through Time Square, arriving at the Garment District to pick up our smashing uniforms. After we opened our uniforms and exclamations like, “Oh my God!” “We have our names on them?!” “They’re SO nice!” “I love these!” were thrown back and forth, we packed all our clothing AND the boys’ clothing into our bags, and crammed in a cab before heading back to Brooklyn.

After a little down time, Lexi, Libby and Haley made their way to Target for some last minute USA paraphernalia: red, white and blue nail polish, shoelaces – you name it. This was followed by Lexi’s first time eating Thai food at Joya in Brooklyn. The day ended with last minute packing and an early bed time for tomorrow’s last session and 6:10p.m. takeoff…India here comes team USA!

Julie

July 21st: Day 2


We woke up to the pouring rain in Brooklyn Heights—great squash weather—and made our way to the courts for some hard training. Unfortunately, Natasha couldn’t make it down today so it was just Libby, Lexi, and Haley. Meredeth had to fill in. She barely kept up with us ;). Fast showers and then off to an amazing sandwich place for lunch while Libby barely survived her collapsing umbrella. Becoming real pros at the subway we made our way to SOHO where we did some shopping. A man in high heels running on a treadmill in a store window and Hollister models out in the rain sporting their new swimsuit line caught our attention. After Haley covered Lexi in USA glitter we encountered burping, New York City weirdoes, on our way to Harlem. Olivia joined us at Streetsquash’s amazing new facility. Some Streetsquash team members gave us tour prior to a joint training session. We talked about our training habits they played matches vs. their senior coaches. After our matches we went to Nick’s Pizzeria on the Upper East Side where we met Jack’s wife Amelia, their two week old son Jack ‘Junior’ Wyant, and his brother Tim. Baby Jack looks remarkably similar to his dad—for better or for worse. Jack encouraged aggressive eating and challenged Haley to team pizza eating contest. Luckily it all ended in a tie – no tears yet on this trip.

Haley & Olivia

July 20th: Travel Day & the First Day of Training

The team traveled to New York on Monday and met at the Heights Casino in Brooklyn. Some had more difficulty in their travels. Libby and Lexi took train up from Philly and Wilmington and met Jack at the confusing train station (aka Penn Station). The girls felt a little out of place in The City and did not know anything about New York and the subways. Their bags were so large and heavy; Libby’s got stuck in the turnstiles and had to pay twice to get her bag through. Looking a bit helpless, random New Yorkers kept asking them if they needed help with their massive luggage. In the process, Lexi and Libby learned the five boroughs and that the Statue of Liberty was NOT on Staten Island. They made it to the Casino where they met Meredith, Natasha, & Haley. We all trained together, ate a quick lunch on the Promenade and decided to take the Staten Island Ferry. We were all exhausted and needed some down time before we played the intense Heights Casino men’s A team. Some of us played up to 9 games and we were definitely exhausted that night. Haley, Libby, and Lexi went to Hot Bagels for dinner and finished them before we got back to the Mendez’s. We are definitely learning the true New York City style of 10pm bagel runs and vertical brownstones.

Lexi & Libby

July 19th: Pre-trip Training in New York

The 2009 US Junior Women's team was determined over the course of a grueling season featuring more selection events than ever before. The girls crisscrossed the country in search of an opportunity to wear the red, white and blue versus the best in the world. Eight made the team: Olivia Blatchford, Julie Cerullo, Libby Eyre, Natasha Kingshott, Haley Mendez, Yarden Odinak, Lexi Saunders, and Amanda Sohby. We've gathered in New York to make final preparations prior to flying half way around the world to Chennai, India, site of the World Junior Women's Squash Championships.

Over the next three weeks we will be posting news, results and discoveries from our time in New York then India. Feel free to contact us via email jhwyant@upenn.edu if you have any questions or comments for the team.

Meredeth & Jack

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

U.S. is 6th in Interim Team Seedings

The U.S. Junior Women's Team is seeded in the interim team seeding to finish in 6th place at the 2009 World Junior Squash Championships in Chennai, India. Interim seeding was based on individual results of team members in recent tournaments and past team results. The high seeding for the American team is a direct correlation to the success that Junior Woman's team members, particularly Olivia Blatchford and Amanda Sobhy, have been having overseas in junior tournaments and on the WISPA tour.

If the U.S. team were to finish in 6th place, it would better the 8th place finish that the 2007 team achieved in Hong Kong. The Junior Women's team has never finished higher than 4th, which was achieved by both the 2001 and 2005 teams. The U.S. is seeded behind defending champion Egypt, Malaysia, Canada, India, and Hong Kong. The final seedings, and the positions in the pools, will be decided on the semi-final day of the individual championships.

Interim Team Seeding:
[1] Egypt; [2] Malaysia; [3] Canada; [4] India; [5] Hong Kong; [6] USA; [7] England; [8] France; [9] New Zealand; [10] Australia; [11] Netherlands; [12] Germany; [13] South Africa; [14] Denmark; [15] Spain; [16] Sweden

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Training is in full swing





With the competition less than two weeks away, the U.S. Junior Women's Team is busy training for the World Junior Championships. The team is currently training separately due to geographic restrictions, but all 8 girls will meet with Coach Wyant and Coach Quick in less than a week to prepare for the tournament.

Check out these pictures of Julie, Libby, and Natasha training over the last few weeks in Martha's Vineyard. Thanks to Natasha for the pictures!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Draws announced...

The draws have been announced for the individual competition of the 2009 World Junior Squash Championships. First round play will begin two weeks from today on Wednesday, July 29.

In the individual draw for the girls, Olivia Blatchford is seeded 7th and receives a bye in the first round. She is slated to play the winner of Jennie Lindstrom(SWE) and Sharya Guruge(SRI)in the second round. Also seeded is Amanda Sobhy(17/32), who received a first round bye and will play the winner of Harriet Ingham(ENG) and Mao Shi Yuan(SIN)in the second round. Julie Cerullo is the final squad member to receive a bye and will play Christine Nunn(AUS) in the second round. First round matchups include Yarden Odinak vs. Eliza Sim(NZL), Natasha Kingshott vs. Marina Lopez Garcia(ESP), Libby Eyre vs. Chan Wing Hei(HKG), Haley Mendez vs. Mao Shihui(SIN), and Lexi Saunders vs. Anne Jongerden(NED).

Also, let us not forgot about the Junior Boys who will be competing in the individual bracket. This is the first year that the Junior Men and Women will have coinciding individual divisions (the Junior Men will not play a team competition). Leading the American boys will be Todd Harrity, who is seeded 9/16 and will face Fahad Al-Ramezi(KUW) in the first round. Other matches include Brandon McLaughlin vs. Ravi Dixit(IND), Zeke Scherl vs. Muhammad Zul A Azhar(MAS), and Alex Ma vs. Rudi Rohrmuller(GER).

-Scott, U.S. SQUASH

Friday, July 10, 2009

Junior women in the news














Lexi is looking sharp in training for Junior Women's Teams (courtesy Delaware News Journal)

We are excited over the publicity that several members of the Junior Women's team have gotten in the media over the past few weeks! The excitement is certainly building for India later this month.

An article from the Delaware News Journal on Lexi Saunders:
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090710/SPORTS11/907100361/1002/SPORTS
An article from the Olympic Team USA website:
http://squash.teamusa.org/news/article/13411

Says Julie in the Team USA article, "Once school is out my focus is going to be entirely squash leading up to worlds. I know what I'm training for and when you have a goal in mind it makes it a lot easier. The more I train the more motivated I become."

-Scott, U.S. SQUASH

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Follow this blog!

The 2009 U.S. Junior Women's team will be posting directly in this blog before, during, and after the championships to be held from July 29 through August 8. Keep checking in for up-to-the-minute results and reactions from the players and coaches.

2009 Junior Women's Team Preview

Following a full year of competition in selection tournaments and a final playoff held April 3-5, U.S. SQUASH named the members of the 2009 U.S. Junior Women’s Squash team that will compete at this summer’s World Junior Women’s Squash Championships in Chennai, India from July 29 to August 9. Eight juniors will be making the trip to India: Olivia Blatchford (Wilton, CT), Julie Cerullo (Brooklyn, NY), Elizabeth Eyre (Haverford, PA), Natasha Kingshott (Greenwich, CT.), Haley Mendez (Brooklyn, NY), Yarden Odinak (Bellevue, WA), Alexis Saunders (Wilmington, DE), and Amanda Sobhy (Sea Cliff, NY).

The World Junior Women’s Squash Championships consist of two events: the team event and the individual event. Competing for the U.S. in the team event from August 3- August 9 will be Blatchford, Sobhy, Cerullo, and Odinak. Olivia Blatchford will be competing for the top position on the squad. Although she is only 16 years old, Olivia is already one of the most promising and successful women’s squash players in the country. She has had considerable success in both junior and adult tournaments this year- having won the Girls National Championship in early March and placing in third in the Women’s National Championship the following weekend. Olivia was also a member of the Women’s National Team that competed in Cairo this past winter. Amanda Sobhy will be another member of the squad competing for a top spot in the team event. The 15-year-old has been playing years above her age over the past junior season- maintaining a healthy rivalry with Blatchford throughout the Junior Championship Tour, in addition to trying her luck at the professional level in several WISPA tournaments. Julie Cerullo and Yarden Odinak will be the elder statesman of the squad this summer, as both 18-year-old will be bringing their fiery competitive spirits to the courts of India. Cerullo and Odinak finished third and fourth, respectively, at the Junior Championships last March.

Elizabeth Eyre, Natasha Kingshott, Haley Mendez, and Alexis Saunders will also be traveling to India to compete in the Individual event taking place from July 29- August 2. These four girls earned their spot on the team through their results this past season in the Junior Championship Tour and the Junior Women’s Team playoff from April 3-5 at the Fairmount Athletic Club. All four will be looking to gain experience at the individual level and will train with their squad mates in the team event.

Accompanying the team to India will be Head Coach Jack Wyant and Assistant Coach Meredith Quick. Coach Wyant believes that by improving the team’s overall fitness and reinforcing basic tactical skills the team will definitely improve on its finish two years ago at the 2007 World Junior Women’s Team Championships in Hong Kong. Blatchford, Cerullo, and Kingshott were all members of the 2007 squad and will be trying to use their experience in that event to their advantage here in 2009. Wyant also commented on how Olivia and Amanda should be well accustomed to the international style of play after the two played in several professional tournaments this summer. Although the team will be geographically dispersed throughout the country during the early summer months, Coach Wyant will be corresponding with each squad member individually and will be organizing a training session in Philadelphia. Coach Quick will be organizing a second training session in Brooklyn. The team will then meet together in mid-July before the competition begins to train together and review team goals.

Overall, the 2009 U.S. Junior Women’s Squash team has the potential to be one of the most competitive teams in the history of US SQUASH. With a solid core of experienced players combined with the youthful exuberance of several newcomers, the players and coaches alike seem to be optimistic about the team’s chances in India. The US SQUASH community wishes the team luck and will be eager to see how they perform on the world stage this July.